What would I pay $13 for?
First a technical note - the spam is getting out of control here on old Emma’s Ramblings so I had to turn on the feautre that makes me approve comments first (but I’m hoping to keep it that I only have to approve the first time) so if you’re comments don’t show up right away, blame the damn spammers.
Now, onto the $13 thing.
Yes, I’m very happy with the success of my epublibshing career, but lets face it, I don’t make very much money. So why are all the damn books I want to buy $13+???
ALL the erotic romance books - Spice, Aphrodesia, Brava, Berkley, etc, etc - are trade paperback and expensive. Apparently since I’m a woman that likes sex, I’ve gotta pay twice as more as anyone else. (Yeah, that sounded wrong).
This weekend I got Animal Instincts by Gena Showalter, All U Can Eat by Emma Holly and Undressing Mercy by Deanna Lee. All of them were $13. There were lots more than I wanted, but hell, I couldn’t afford them. And the thing that sucks more is that I [em]have[/em] to get these books in a bookstore - discount stores are too prissy to stock books with S-E-X!
Plus (yes, my rant continues) all the books aren’t the same size trade paperback. The HQN one is a smidge shorter than the Berkley and Aphrodesia ones. Are publishers also trying to wreck havoc with my bookshelf buying budget?
There’s always crap online about how ebooks are so expensive. Well you know what, books I hold in my hand are expensive, too!! (And yes, I did just go onto Amazon and check all 3 books and they were cheaper buy a few dollars, but I had gift certificates to use).
And what the hell is this I hear about the next Dark Hunter book coming out in hardback. Okay, that’s a gaurenteed way not to get me to read it! Look, if you want to put an author in hardback, I’m all for that (but I still won’t buy the books). But starting in the middle of a series? What the hell is that?
Stay tuned later in the week for my story about the other women in the romance section with me at the store talking about covers.
In the mean time, tells me what annoys you about buying books!
May 8th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Emma you need some coffee! :-)
I totally understand your complaint on books and costs and who stocks what. I’m always having to buy online as we only have a Pamida and Kmart to choose from locally and they do not carry much. Kmart does not carry Harlequin(though they do once in a while carry MIRA) and Pamida does carries harlequin and some main stream lines but nothing I seem to ever be looking for. (very small selection - very small!!!) I’ve now gotten a list of authors I like who are bestsellers but Pamida and Kmart don’t carry these particular authors I guess. Too erotic? *shrug* I’ve given up getting upset. I used to never buy a book new but being that I’m trying to get published… it suddenly occured to me that that is going to be me someday(I hope) and people buying second hand isn’t going to help me put food on the table. Soooo, now I buy new. (too emphatic perhaps?) I still cringe though. Probably always will. I save up and thus when I do spend I feel like I’m not taking and using ‘needed’ money. Also my husband may grumble but not as much then either. I do still grumble over having to pay shipping but… I really have no choice. So think of paying that $13 PLUS shipping! *grin* Double yuck!
Take your time and enjoy the books!
Cole
May 8th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
A little chocolate would go nicely with that coffee :-)
There are a LOT of books out in trade paper back that I want. Sometimes, they come out later in regular paper back. Sometimes they don’t. I’ve managed to wait on a couple. But it’s HARD! Someone recently said, “Trade is the new hardback.” I don’t know. But I agree that it’s a pain to buy. I have managed to find some new trade paperbacks on ebay. Which helps a little with the cost sometimes. But it’s a pain trying to bid on things. Plus, I tend to get competitve when bidding on stuff and I run the risk of paying too much :-). Can’t be beat! So, if I can wait for it to come out in regular paperback I do. If not, I buy it and hide it from hubby :-). We need a new book case.
May 10th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
What annoys me about buying books? Okay, my local bookstore is tiny, and doesn’t stock a lot of international authors, or ones who aren’t well-known over here (big annoyance there: last time I looked for the new Jennifer Crusie, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jim Butcher and Katie MacAlister, no dice).
So for a big shop I have to go to Cambridge, which is a university town–like THE university–which means that when I go there, there’s always some absent-looking professorial type with an armful of Kafka, looking me over like I’m a dog doing a trick when I pick out something with a bright, pretty cover.
Well, I like shiny things.
May 13th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Oh God, major peeve of mine! I hate it when publishers start publishing a series in hardback midway through a series like that. I’m compulsive. I want things to match. If a start a series in paperback, that’s the way I want to end it. Plus there’s the money thing too!